


Another Cold Day in Hell

by BadGoose



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, F/F, F/M, Gen, Heel Becky, Redemption, This isn't a nice version of Becky, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 05:23:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16033871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadGoose/pseuds/BadGoose
Summary: The events of one brawl end up leading Becky and Charlotte down two very opposite paths. Will they be able to find their way back to each other? Or will Becky push away the only person who can help pull her back from the brink?





	1. It all started here

Throwing punches at Charlotte felt cathartic. All of her problems and shortcomings being taken out through the forceful blows she relentlessly laid down. Each punch that landed squarely onto that perfect jaw bringing a satisfaction born from years of being overlooked. The punches Charlotte landed in return fueling her with every hard shot.  
  
Chaos surrounded them, most of the female locker room coming out to try and hold the two now former friends apart. Pairs of unidentifiable hands pulling at Becky’s arms, hoping to pull her off while taking away her ability to continue assaulting the blonde champion. Becky aggressively brushed the hands away, returning to throwing as many shots as she could in Charlotte’s direction.  
  
Another strong pair of hands returned, gripping tightly onto her shoulders, attempting to once again hold off the assault.  
  
Without a second thought Becky threw her elbow backwards as hard as she could, the point of her elbow contacting hard with whoever had been trying to stop her. The hands holding her back suddenly losing their strength and falling lifelessly away. A loud gasp erupting from the crowd that Becky ignored, using her new freedom to jump back on top of Charlotte so that their brawl could continue.  
  
All of a sudden Becky felt herself get physically man-handled off of Charlotte, her fists ineffectively flailing, unable to contact her target, “Becky! Rebecca you got to quit now!” the surprising southern accent of A.J. Styles breaking through the cloud of rage that had been blinding her. The sudden realization that the ring was now full of a large majority of both the male and female roster. A.J., along with all three members of the New Day getting in between Becky and Charlotte, the rest of the wrestlers with their backs turned, paying rapt attention to something on the other side of the ring.  
  
Without the blood rushing through her ears Becky was made aware of the severe lack of noise in the large building. The crowd staring, only the quiet sound of occasional whispers breaking their silence. The announcers sitting ramrod straight; Michael Cole speaking with a somber look on his face, while Corey worriedly peered over the top of his folded hands. The normally excited and talkative man noticeably mute.  
  
Now that Becky had calmed down A.J. lowered her gently back to her feet. Opting to remain close on the chance that she decided to continue her attack.  
  
Becky’s newfound calm allowed her to assess the situation and she began to wonder what everyone was all worried about. While she and Charlotte had some bumps and bruises, it was nothing serious enough for the reactions around her.  
  
Slowly she moved over towards the wall of wrestlers that blocked off any visual of what they were all staring at, when a heavy gloved hand came to rest on her shoulder, “You shouldn’t—” A.J. began, only for the Irish woman to throw his hand off and rush forward. Pushing her way in between the wall of humanity so that she could discover what had happened.  
  
Paige’s normally pale skin was even more striking when contrasted with the vivid red that gushed from a large gash above her right eye. The blood falling downwards and creating a horrifying crimson mask that only covered one side of her face, the other looking untouched and pristine. The cut itself looked as if someone had purposefully used a machete to gouge a chunk of flesh out of Paige’s forehead.  
  
Quite abruptly the image was cut off by a medic who had slid in and began to apply pressure with a large white towel that quickly became stained dark red. One of the other medics using his fingers to pry open Paige’s eye so that he could shine a light onto the unresponsive, unfocused retina. The normally energetic General Manager’s body unnaturally still, besides the slow, but steady, rise and fall of her chest.  
  
Becky’s mouth dropped open in horror at the aftermath of what she had done. Every second that Paige continued to lie motionless amplifying the disgust Becky felt toward herself.  
  
When she looked up and surveyed the rest of the wrestlers she saw that same disgust reflected back at her externally. Many of them looking down at Paige in concern, while others stared at Becky in disappointment. Familiar faces, that had looked to her as a friend, now staring in discontent. Hostility and anger openly point at an Irish woman who didn’t know how to deal with it.  
  
She avoided looking around any longer. Making a move closer to Paige, only to find her path blocked off. A defiant group led by Naomi standing in her way, “You’ve done enough.”  
  
Swallowing the lump in her throat Becky nodded and backed away with her hands held high. Even though all she wanted to do was check on Paige, Becky backed down. A part of herself wondering if she deserved to apologize. Everyone seemed to believe it was her fault and treated her like she had purposefully attacked the other woman.  
  
Had she?  
  
At the moment Becky honestly wasn’t sure. Her own recollection of the last few minutes could at best be described as hazy. The blind rage she flew into making it impossible to notice anything other than her goal in that moment, which was Charlotte.  
  
If you asked her how Charlotte smelled, what she was wearing or how soft the skin she battered felt, Becky would be able to answer in a heartbeat. Yet anything outside of the blonde had been deemed meaningless and had faded off into the background and became obsolete.  
  
Did she hit Paige on purpose? Was she the reason for the massive amount of blood that hadn’t been seen on WWE televisions in years? What type of person would possibly do something like that? Especially to someone like Paige, with her very public health issues that had caused her to retire so early.  
  
Unable to take it anymore Becky unceremoniously slid out of the ring. Her head angled downwards, not willing to look anyone in the face as she moved up the ramp.  
  
The sudden and voracious boos captured the Irish woman’s attention. In the span of seconds, the entire arena reverberated with the jeers and disdainful boos. Wondering what possibly could have happened to make the crowd, who had been silent for so long, erupt.  
  
Looking up at the large screen on top of the ramp, Becky was puzzled by a mirror image of herself being displayed.  
  
The slow realization that she was the one being booed dawned on her.  
  
Personal attacks and horrible sentiments from the fans were directed at her for the first time in her career, and she didn’t know what to do.  
  
She stood in the middle of nowhere, out in the middle of the ramp by herself. Separated by more than just the distance between her and the wrestlers in the ring.  
  
Even Charlotte, who she had avoided making eye contact with, remained in the ring refusing to acknowledge the other woman. Her own face downcast and somber after the dust from their brawl had settled.  
  
Becky began the lonely walk the rest of the way to the back. Trying to stand tall and act like all the fans hatred didn’t affect her. As if she couldn’t care less for Paige’s health. As if Charlotte’s dismissal didn’t hurt.  
  


  
Later that night Charlotte could be found in the dark of her solo hotel room. Face lit up by the bright light of her phone as she replayed the clip of her and Becky’s brawl. Asking herself over and over when everything had gone so wrong.  
  
In the corner of her clip a notification came in that WWE had uploaded a new video with the headline, ‘Update after the shocking events of SDL’.  
  
Charlotte had never clicked on a video so fast.  
  
Renee Young appeared on screen looking professional as always even though her expression was somber, “As you are all aware Smackdown General Manager Paige was injured earlier tonight. As with any head injury, we have been told the doctors are taking all necessary precautions. We’ve also been informed that in addition to the obvious laceration on her face, Paige has also suffered a severe concussion. As of now, we have no more information on her status, but will update you as soon as we know more.”  
  
Charlotte sighed and ran her hand over her face. The events of tonight catching up with her and making her feel deeply tired.  
  
“I have also been requested to read this joint statement from WWE COO Triple H and Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. ‘Effective immediately Becky Lynch has been suspended for sixty days. We here at WWE are committed to creating a safe and respectful environment for everyone here. In order to fulfill this promise, upon return Ms. Lynch will be required to stay more than fifty feet away from the Smackdown GM at all times. In addition, we have reached the conclusion that it is in everyone’s best interest that Ms. Lynch is traded over to Monday Night Raw for a female superstar to be determined.’. As always we will keep you updated with any information as soon as we learn it.”  
  
Charlotte’s phone tumbled out of her fingers to the ground in shock. Crashing into the ground and causing cracks to appear in the formerly pristine screen. A perfect visual representation for how Charlotte’s heart felt at this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I know. I'm starting another story. But this one has been on my mind ever since they turned Becky heel. 
> 
> I wanted to actually write a version of Becky turning heel that could maybe work to get people booing her. Lets face it, without something drastic like this, no crowd is gonna boo Becky right now. 
> 
> This is mostly just a teaser for what is to come, but Becky isn't going to be a nice person in this. Fair warning. 
> 
> As always hope you got some entertainment out of this, and if not, I recommend tacos. They usually help.


	2. Two Months

Two months seemed to pass by in seconds for Charlotte. Without Becky either by her side or across the ring from her, every Tuesday night felt like a chore to even just show up to the arena. Every entrance she made without sight or sound of her former Irish friend her smile fell a bit more, until recently she couldn’t even produce the façade of happiness. The belt she raised above her head after each consecutive victory gradually increase in weight, until she was too tired to continue lifting it up.

The Mixed Match Challenge helped at first. A.J., who knew how close the two had been prior, made sure to try and keep her spirits up. Succeeding during those brief periods of time, for the first month. Eventually even the more lighthearted exhibition matches ceased to provide Charlotte the escape she desperately needed.

Day by day she continued to simply float through her responsibilities. Planting that fake million- dollar smile on her face and answering questions with a flawless ease that belied how she actually felt.

That would all change one Monday night when her phone seemed to blow up with messages telling her to tune in to Raw.

 

 _1 Hour Before Raw_  

Walking into the arena after two months of imposed exile felt weird. Two months since she had last stepped foot in a WWE ring. Two months of replaying a single minute of her life, over and over again.

Two months since she had last seen Charlotte’s face.

She had tried watching an episode of Smackdown but had to turn off the television as soon as Charlotte was scheduled to compete. It had been hard to listen to the picture the commentators painted of her. They acted as if they knew with certainty what had motivated her actions. The scowl she wore deepening with every slanderous word that came out of their mouths. Calling her all sorts of unflattering things like; coward, spineless, unapologetic, despicable and whatever other words they probably looked up, so that they had more to throw at her.

No one from WWE had spoke to her after the incident and subsequent suspension. So, the announcers speaking with such certainty as to Becky’s own thoughts served to just piss her off and boil with anger at the misrepresentation.

As she strolled into the depths of the arena with her head held high and rolling her suitcase behind her Becky noticed the way staff and wrestlers alike turned away as she passed. The tension in her shoulders ratcheting up as she maneuvered through the halls towards the female locker room.

The moments she entered the locker room Becky felt the weight of others negative opinions through the stares they sent her way.

Ignoring the other women, the best she could, Becky put on a strong front, walking down the aisle until she reached an open spot where she placed her bag down onto the bench.

Turning her back to the rest of the room she felt the eyes boring into her back even still. Becky took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders, in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure that had stagnated there.

She closed her eyes when she heard several pairs of feet walk over in her direction and stop just behind her.

The loud crash of her bag hitting the ground and spilling its contents across the floor rang out in the suddenly deadly silent room.

“You’re not welcome in here.”

Becky tightened her hands into fists and squeezed her eyes closed, “Well hello to you too Nattie.”

Ignoring the sarcastic pleasantries Natalya continued on, arms crossed in front of her and a righteous anger running through her veins, “You need to find another place to change. No one wants you in here.”

Whirling around to confront the woman behind her Becky took in the scene. While Natalya, Ember and Nia were the ones directly confronting her, none of the other woman seemed to disagree with them, “Last I checked you don’t own this locker room. So maybe you should just leave me be,” Becky threatened.

Natalya smirked, “What are you going to do? Try and end my career for good too? Or maybe you only can attack people who won’t fight back?”

Becky was fuming from the low blow and aggressively stepped into Natalya’s personal space ready to defend herself physically if need be.

Before she could say anything the strong unshakable arms of Nia Jax grabbed a hold of her and shoved her backwards and away from the Canadian.

“You know she asked about you?” Nia said obviously disappointed.

Despite how much Becky wanted to lash out, that sentence froze her, “Who?”

Nia shook her head, “Paige. She actually asked how you were doing, if you can believe that. She was actually worried that you would beat yourself up over it.”

“Did you even try to apologize to her?”

Becky remained stubbornly silent. Unable to deny the claim. She hadn’t reached out to Paige. That wasn’t to mean she hadn’t tried. In fact, she had sat with phone in hand multiple times, always hesitating to actually dial the number in her phone.

She had even driven herself all the way to hospital Paige had initially been staying at. Unfortunately, she couldn’t force herself to leave the safety of the rental car when she had seen Charlotte and several other wrestlers walking inside with ‘get well’ balloons and other tiny gifts.

Becky felt the need to lash out and defend herself, “She knows what can happen when you get in the ring.”

Nattie looked at her in shock, “The Becky I used to know would never say something like that.”

The words reminded her of the plethora of disappointed fans who had voiced their opinion towards her in some way or another on social media for the last two months.

“Please. If I hear one more person claim they ‘used to’ know me I will throw up. You clearly don’t know me at all.”

Nia once again stepped closer, Ember moving in as well, “We would really prefer to do this without violence, but if you don’t get out of here we will make you,” she threatened.

Icy tendrils of rage started to set in. The continued narrative and her inability to defend herself against it frustrating her to no end. She snarled and got chest to chest with the large and intimidating Samoan woman. Ready to fight, but instead choosing to listen to the conniving voice in her head and stalling her hand,

Now wasn’t the time.

“I was just about to leave anyway. Wouldn’t want to stay in here with you spineless bitches for any longer than I have to.”

Nia raised her hand as if to strike Becky but was stopped by Ember grabbing onto the arm with both hands, “Don’t do it. She’s not worth it.”

Grabbing her bag and quickly gathering her spilled things Becky straightened up and stormed towards the door. Well aware of all the eyes on her every move.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dejected looking Bayley sitting with her knees drawn into her chest and the stains of dried tears on her cheeks.

A part of Becky wanted to go check on the normally happy woman she had always considered a friend, but her pride wouldn’t let her stay a second longer than she had to in this room.

So, rather than comforting Bayley, she continued on her way out the door without a glance back.

Paying no attention to the soft footfalls that seemed to be following her out the door.

She wandered around the halls looking for any place where she could have some semblance of privacy in which to get ready.

With Raw just about to go on air there was no such place. An endless amount of staff and backstage crew around every corner.

Taking a deep breath Becky realized what she needed to do.

Putting on a sweatshirt, she flipped the large hood up and hoped that would be enough for her to pass incognito through the public part of the arena, so she could make it to the restroom.

Luck seemed to be on her side as the few fans still trying to find their seats or get some snack seemed to ignore her and she made it to the restroom without incident.

Her luck followed her inside where one stall was amazingly unoccupied.

The streak of luck could only last so long.

After she had finished changing and donned her sweatshirt and a pair of easy to slip on leggings over the top of her ring gear she went to go wash her hands at the open sink.

Keeping her head down worked on avoiding adults seeing her face, it didn’t do much to help with the small girl who couldn’t be more than six years old decked out in Bayley gear with a John Cena armband.

“Mommy! Mommy! It’s Becky Lynch!”

The mother automatically dismissed the child’s theoretically wild claim.

Pulling the hood as far down as she could, Becky briskly walked out before the mother decided to try and talk to her for some reason.

Glad that the mother’s dismissal allowed her to escape but embarrassed at having to be forced so low and risk someone seeing her.

She moved out the door so quickly that she wasn’t paying enough attention to who could possibly be on the outside and bumped into a fan who had been carrying several beers back to his seat. The cold liquid ending up mostly on the ground, but with a significant portion soaking the length of Becky’s right side, the arm of the sweatshirt looked as if it had been dipped into a pool.

The man was apologetic as the collision was a combination of both people’s carelessness, but in the midst of his hasty apology he seemed to notice who exactly he had spilled his drinks on.

“Becky Lynch? Oh my god that is you!”

Mortified, the Irish woman moved to walk away, but as she turned a hand grabbed a hold of her hood and yanked it off, leaving her fully revealed to the slowly gathering crowd.

As the cries brought more curious fans Becky felt claustrophobic amongst the uncontrolled mob of fans. The wall of humanity around her morphing and closing in.

Someone decided to be the first person who booed, which in turn started a mob mentality and grew till nearly the entire crowd was booing her. A young man shouting, “You suck!” seemed to open the floodgates and more obscenities were hurled in her direction.

Her fists trembled from the effort to hold herself back from just pushing her way by force through the crowd.

Out of thin air, two large security guards popped up next to the wrestler and helped he navigate her way out without making a larger incident. Even if a rogue fan did throw an unidentifiable liquid in her direction that must have cost them a lot of money.

Once backstage again in an ‘employees only’ section, Becky felt a large amount of gratitude towards the two men, “Thank you both.”  
The slightly larger of the two replied, “Don’t thank us. Thank her,” pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

Leaning so that she could see around the security guard Becky’s breath nearly stopped from rage at the image.

Sitting on top of a large black crate with her legs crossed and makeup already perfect was none other than Alexa Bliss. Who even had the audacity to conspiratorially wink at her and beckon her over with a bent finger.

Cautiously, Becky crept closer. Her history with the tiny self-claimed goddess making her understandably hesitant to believe Alexa had only had her safety in mind.  
She obviously wanted something.

Might as well give it a listen.

“I suppose I should say thanks.”

“That is what normal people do, but don’t mention it. Us original Smackdown girls got to stick together.”

Becky was proud that she didn’t bust out laughing and only scoffed, “Reminding me of out time wrestling back then might not be the smartest thing.”

The sly smile Alexa sent her way made it obvious that she was having fun pushing Becky’s buttons, “I guess I was mistaken then. It looked like you could use a friend,” she exaggeratedly looked around, “Where is Charlotte by the way? Still crying over you finally realizing how good you really are?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care.”

“I’m impressed. It looks like little Becky Lynch finally grew up.”

Becky growled under her breath, making the tiny blonde grin and dig deeper.

“I remember you once telling me that you and Queenie would be best friends forever. Although, my money was on Charlotte getting sick of you first, but you stepping up to the plate was a pleasant surprise.”

“I thought a real goddess would be omniscient and could have seen that coming.”

“What can I say. I miscalculated. I always expected you being in love with that silly little princess would hold you back from your full potential.”

“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand. She made her choice—”

“And it wasn’t you. Right? Instead she shoves her way into your rightful one on one match with Carmella, who we both know you would have beat easily, and then pretends to be humble and sorry about winning the belt by attacking you from behind.”

Becky stepped closer and pointed her finger into the other woman’s calm face, “Shut your damn mouth.”

“Truth hurts doesn’t it,” she said, turning the knife a little more. “Listen, I know we have always been enemies from day one. All I’m saying is maybe you need some new friends. I’ve got a match tonight against Natalya. I’ll have Mickie out there by my side, but Natalya will have her little friend Ronda Rousey by hers.”

Becky took in the new information with an open mind.

“I’m just saying it might be a good time to reintroduce the world to Becky. Just think about it,” she offered, hopping down from the crate and moving away.

Leaving behind a contemplative Irish wrestler, whose face slowly shifted into an excited grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait on this one. Just been a very busy last few weeks and I started another story as well. I'm a victim of having too many ideas, and being very tired. 
> 
> I know this was a somewhat small chapter, but the next one will be significantly longer. It felt like the best place to break this first night back without cutting you all off at a more frustrating point.
> 
> As always hope you got some entertainment out of this, and if not, I recommend tacos. They usually help.


	3. Raw Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy everyone. Sorry it took me so long to get back to this one. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the long wait.

This was something Becky had missed most of all during her two month suspension.

 

Being able to just stand with her feet solidly connected to the ground as the crowd’s vibrations echoed into her toes. Even just standing in the back when the crowd was particularly loud had always given Becky goosebumps. Stealing away what energy she could and letting it run through her.

 

Two months without this feeling had been hell.

 

Two months without seeing Charlotte felt like its own special version of hell.

 

She was conflicted. And she hated herself for being conflicted about it.

 

Charlotte hadn’t been there for her. And even if she had it was only because it suited her. Because Charlotte gained something from having her there. Perhaps a potential scapegoat, maybe just someone to take the bullet for her. She wouldn’t allow herself to honestly consider that maybe Charlotte had changed and hadn’t been planning on stabbing her in the back again.

 

Even if she wished it was true, it was just a silly fantasy. Becky was on her own and that terrified her more than she was willing to admit.

 

Since she had walked through WWE’s welcoming doors, she had almost always had someone there by her side. Early on in NXT it had been Sasha. Then when they came to the main roster it had been Paige and Charlotte. Then it was just Charlotte, and everything felt like it was coming together. At least, it had. Until Ric had started coming on the road again.

 

That had stung far more than she possibly thought anything could. She had been burned again but this time the pain felt paralyzing. Her lungs had seized up every single time she had spotted that golden hair backstage. Her father dotingly following along and filling her head up with how great she was until Charlotte believed it.

 

Perhaps that had stung worst of all. Charlotte had always struggled to get out of her father’s shadow. Plenty of late night conversations fueled by physical exhaustion and an inability to sleep due to the buzz that lingered after a match where the blonde had divulged her fears. How she didn’t believe she was worthy of the praise she received and wondered if the people online claiming nepotism had more truth behind their words than she knew.

 

In all their time together, Becky had constantly tried to get the blonde to believe in herself. Using every available opportunity to compliment the woman and get her to believe that she was worth it. Because every second of their friendship had been worth it to the Irish woman and she wouldn’t stop until her taller companion didn’t suffer from the demons in her own head that held her back.

 

And after all that effort, the person who got Charlotte to finally find the confidence inside herself was not Becky, but Ric.

 

Stung was a very light way to describe how Becky felt when she came to the realization. Her heart felt as if it had been ripped open and was currently being operated on.

 

She had tried her best to get her friend back, but Ric had weaseled his way in and made Becky’s role in Charlotte’s life redundant.

 

Charlotte was now the star that Becky always knew she could be. But now she burned too bright for Becky to touch without burning. Not that that stopped her from coming back for more. A never ending loop that Becky couldn’t help herself from repeating. Because even if she was kicked away every time she got close, the bruises were proof that she had been close to the other woman.

 

Becky wasn’t proud of it but when she was lying down at night without Charlotte near, the bruises helped her feel something. They were at least proof that Charlotte cared. Even if only enough to batter her until she left. Both knowing that Becky would be back to try again.

 

Eventually she and Natalya had been side by side until the Canadian had decided she wasn’t worth her time anymore.

 

That was when she realized she had been in love with Charlotte all along.

 

Not from some profound moment of sudden brilliance. But rather, the pensive musings of a tired woman wondering why this latest betrayal didn’t hurt as much as the last.

 

Becky had considered that she was just getting jaded and there was some truth to that, but even so, she should have felt something when Natalya turned on her. Instead she had felt almost nothing.

 

Flash forward to today and Becky had miraculously managed to get Charlotte back on her side. Everything had been going so well between the two.

 

Becky had managed to ‘mostly’ get over the fear that Charlotte was just waiting to turn on her again and the blonde had apologized so many times that Becky jokingly had told her she was sick of hearing the words.

 

Until Becky had got her one on one match with Carmella.

 

She had been waiting for an opportunity like this for so long. No stupid man at ringside to help the Staten Island Princess. No one to get in the way of the beating she deserved.

 

Becky was pulled out of her silent musings when out of the corner of her eye she saw Bayley walking dejectedly towards the parking lot. Everything about the brunette screamed that she was in something akin to mourning. Even her ponytail somehow slumping atop her head.

 

Out of reflex Becky had stepped towards her fellow Horsewoman. Automatically moving to go see what was wrong without a thought to if her presence would be appreciated right now.

 

“Hey Bayley! Wait up!”

 

Reality quickly hit Becky when she saw the other woman tense. Her hands shaking. Fists closed as the normally happy woman tried to hold it her emotions.

 

Becky walked closer and tried to reach out. Pulling back when Bayley flinched as her fingers made contact with the brunette’s shoulder, “Are you alright?” Deciding to try a joke to lighten the mood, “Did Sasha say something dumb like always?”

 

The next thing Becky knew she was on the ground. Bells ringing between her ears; vision blurred for a second as she reflexively shook her head. A burning sensation emanating from her cheek enough evidence for Becky to put together what happened.

 

“Damn. Hell, of a slap you got on you girl. Looks like Sasha’s been teaching you—” her words cut off by another vicious slap from the brunette. Becky could feel her blood boiling, “What the hell?”

 

“Screw you Becky.” No more words being spoken by the brunette. Both woman’s eyes meeting for a second. Just long enough for Becky to see the tears streaming down Bayley’s face before she turned and walked away as quickly as her legs could take her.

 

Becky could only look on in terror.

 

No matter who she had at her side, Bayley had always been a safety net for her. No matter how bad things had gotten her fellow Horsewoman would always be there with a listening ear. Willing to stay on the phone with Becky all night, even if both women had somewhere to be tomorrow.

 

Without that safety net Becky felt anchorless. She had managed to alienate and push away every one that had been close to her.

 

If there was a rock bottom Becky felt like this was it. Her heart pounding uncontrollably in her chest as she was rocked with the knowledge that she was alone.

 

Adrift without a tether to help guide her.

 

Luckily for her she didn’t have to stay inside her own head for too long.

 

The beginnings of Ronda’s music, “Bad Reputation” blaring over the speakers throughout the arena and making it impossible to put a thought together.

 

Becky felt lost and abandoned. Hurt and shattered.

 

Right now, she wanted nothing more than to make someone feel worse than she did, and the opportunity was staring her in the face.

 

 

She waited until Alexa and Natalya’s match had been underway before she made her way down to the ring. Purposefully not telling them to cue her audio.

 

Walking down the ramp with a fury in her blood that only built as her mind continued to supply her with all her failures. Charlotte’s face coming up in that slideshow more often than any other. Haunting her with everything she could have done differently. Insidiously perpetuating her fear and manifesting a fury that burned out of control.

 

She may have been known as ‘Straight Fire’ but right now she was an uncontrollable blaze.

 

The crowd had noticed her first. Raining down boos that drew the attention of the other in the ring and outside.

 

Alexa tried to hide her grin. Becky taking the bait she had laid down as she expected.

 

What she hadn’t expected was that Becky would start off her assault by punching Mickie in the jaw. Knocking the stunned woman to her feet.

 

The Irish woman had climbed on top of Mickie and thrown elbow after elbow into the side of the veteran’s head. Only stopping when her grip on the brunette’s long hair was the only thing keeping her head from hitting the ground.

 

She slowly raised up and stared across the ring into the intense champion’s eyes. Silently challenging Ronda with no intention of backing down or letting the former MMA star away without making her name off what she was about to do to her.

 

Ronda shrugged off the leather jacket she always wore and began to walk around the ring towards Becky.

 

Becky made sure to keep her eyes locked onto her approaching prey. Using her foot to slide a chair out from underneath the ring apron and place it at her feet.

 

She waited until Ronda was just about to turn the corner. All fury and confidence like Ronda always was, which was of course what Becky expected. She tucked her toe underneath the chair’s edge and waited till she had a clear shot.

 

As soon as it was there, Becky used her foot to flip the metal chair up at Ronda’s head. Catching her off guard and clipping her chin with the unexpected projectile.

 

Even though she wasn’t involved in the match, the referee was screaming at her from inside the ring to back off, but she had no intention of stopping.

 

Using the fact that Ronda was stunned to pick up the chair from where it lay and throw several hard strikes to the Champion’s back. Pushing her down to the ground where she remained. Groaning in pain from the stiff metal striking her spine.

 

Becky wasn’t done though. Adjusting her hands for a better grip and swinging the metal recklessly into the fallen Champion. The crowd’s initial cheers at seeing something interesting slowly fading as the beating continued for an uncomfortably long time. The cries that had been forced out of Ronda from the strikes now almost nonexistent. Her mind and body beginning to shutdown from the pain.

 

Even with that Becky didn’t stop. As hurt as Ronda was it paled in comparison to how Becky felt.

 

She thought that this violence would help fill the void, but it only made it larger. Which in turn made her hit the Champ harder. A vague and naïve hope that inflicting pain would somehow take away her pain being shattered through this experience.

 

Bitter tears stung the back of her eyes that she didn’t let fall. Too proud to show how shattered she felt. Not knowing if she would have the will to pull herself back this time.

 

Referee’s from the back finally came out and formed a human wall between her and the unmoving body that lay at her feet.

 

The world had shrunk away for Becky and she had no idea how long she had been just wailing on Ronda’s prone body. The chair’s bent metal back suggesting that it had been quite a while.

 

The boos from the crowd made the emptiness return and Becky had to fight to not fall down from the weight of it. She needed it to go away and the violence had at least helped block that out.

 

She shoved the referees out the way and easily locked in an armbar on the nearly unconscious and defenseless champion.

 

The faint throbbing from her cheek reminded her of Bayley’s slap. She leaned a little farther into the armbar.

 

The dull roar and spirited boos of the crowd reminded her of everyone who turned their back on her. All the people she had failed. The strain in her arms growing as the resistance of Ronda’s arm grew from bending the wrong way.

 

The final straw was Ronda’s blonde hair. Not the right shade of course, but she couldn’t help thinking about the most important person she had pushed away.

 

Just like every time a close friend had turned on her, realizing she pushed Charlotte away hurt exponentially more that the others.

 

She had nothing other than Ronda’s arm. She would take what she could. Maybe the trophy could fill the emptiness inside. Maybe she was going insane, but right now she didn’t care.

 

* * *

 

 

Charlotte had turned on Raw at the behest of several texts.

 

The remote dropped from her fingers onto the hotel bedding. Light from the television screen illuminating the room and casting shadows over Charlotte’s features.

 

Emphasizing the anguish she felt as she watched Becky on screen looking nothing like the woman she used to know. Her eyes were wide and crazed. Filled with a bloodlust that Charlotte depressingly recognized from her darker days. Sorrow filling her heart that one of the purest hearts that she knew of, besides arguably Bayley, had been tainted and fallen so far from where she used to stand.

 

Charlotte knew that Becky wouldn’t have believed her, but even when she was champion she used to look up and admire the other woman. Even when she was convinced that Becky had been holding her back, she had secretly looked up to the woman for sticking to who she was and not compromising herself.

 

A morbid curiosity kept her eyes glued to the television. Or maybe she was a masochist and wanted to put herself through the torture.

 

Even with the television muted she could see the moment when something inside Becky snapped and she leaned back even further till Ronda’s arm suddenly snapped from the pressure.

  
The sudden blast of pain waking the unconscious Champion. Her eyes shut tight in pain while her mouth was open in a terrifying silent scream. Charlotte finding herself thankful that the television was muted so that she wouldn’t have to hear the agony in her voice. The visual of the bone pressing into the skin where it wasn’t supposed to, more than enough to get across what was happening.

 

At this point the referee’s dropped any pretense of men not being allowed to touch the female talent and immediately jumped and pulled her off of Ronda before she cause more damage than she already had.

 

Charlotte watched as Becky snarled and ripped her arms away from the referees. Immediately kneeing another in the balls and causing him to fall down to the ground in a heap.

 

The blonde had to hold her breath when she saw Becky move aggressively towards the injured champion. A few remaining refs forming a protective circle that was almost pathetically ineffective.

 

In the end though the refs would be unnecessary in stopping Becky. Charlotte’s eyebrows raising in surprise as Alexa suddenly appeared in between Becky and Ronda. Her match with Natalya having been thrown away in the chaos.

 

With everyone’s attention on Ronda and Becky on the outside, Alexa had taken the opportunity to attack Natalya from behind and throw her out awkwardly on the other side of the ring while Becky went to town with the chair.

 

She had watched with a sadistic glee as the redhead systematically destroyed the woman who had taken what was rightfully her title. A maniacal smile stretching across her deceptively angelic face when she heard Ronda’s screams. Which may as well have been a Beethoven sonata with how beautiful it sounded to her. The audible pop of Rousey’s bone nearly making her faint from pleasure as she surveyed the scene from inside the ring.

 

She actually began to look at Becky in a different light. Earlier tonight she had just been looking to mess with the obviously disturbed and nervous wrestler. But now, surrounded by violent chaos and wild eyes gleaming with a fire she had never seen in the other woman Alexa couldn’t help the desire to bottle that fire for herself. Tame it and subtly manipulate it for her own needs.

 

If there was one thing Alexa prided herself on it was her ability to read others and find what would put them off balance. She didn’t win so many matches by physical prowess alone. Wish as she might she was at a physical disadvantage against almost every other woman in WWE. So instead of banging her head against a brick wall, she had decided to use her skill to find her opponents weakness and exploit them.

 

To her, Becky was like a hunk of bleeding flesh thrown into the water. And just like a shark Alexa was immediately drawn to her prey at scent of blood in the water. The empty loneliness in Becky calling out for something to fill the void so loudly that Alexa couldn’t help but see the weak spot and devise her plan.

 

She slipped out of the ring and pranced over to Becky, looking for all the world like she had no fear even though her heart was beating loudly. The small chance that she had miscalculated would be the difference between having Becky and getting beaten up.

 

As soon as she had stepped in between Becky and her prey, the Irish woman had turned her angry glare Alexa’s way. Obviously hoping that her stare alone would intimidate the other woman. A hint of curiosity and respect rising in Becky’s mind for the tiny woman, even through the violent haze that muddied her thoughts.

 

Alexa managed to keep her poker face steady in the face of the angry Irish woman. Slowly closing the gap between them until she was easily within arm’s reach. Subtly showing that she was trusting the redhead to not immediately strike her. Her arms held low and palms spread open. Approaching Becky as if she was a scared, angry dog that had been backed into a corner.

 

“Don’t worry Becky. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.”

 

Becky looked understandably skeptical, but she didn’t raise a hand which Alexa took as a good first sign.

 

“I know everyone abandoned you,” her voice abnormally calm and deceptively caring. Reading what the Irish woman wanted like it was written on a book that she had been studying for day, “I won’t do that. All you need to do is take my hand.”

 

The small blonde getting closer to Becky and raising one of her hands to gently stroke the side of the Irish woman’s face. Internally sneering in victory when she felt the redhead lean into her touch.

 

“I won’t leave you Becks,” fake caring smile in place as she twisted her fingers through Becky’s like an invasive vine. Creeping in and taking control of the woman’s hand, “You just have to trust me.”

 

Charlotte had been watching the interaction with initial confusion that quickly turned into rage when she saw Alexa begin to speak to Becky.

 

That alone was enough for her to unmute the television and turn the volume up loud enough to easily irritate everyone else on the floor of the hotel. Hoping to hear a snippet of Alexa’s words even though there was no microphone right next to them.

 

It was a lost cause though, and none of the words were audible so Charlotte could only go off of the small facial expressions and body language.

 

Her body slowly tensing as Alexa began to touch Becky. Hoping that Becky would throw that other woman’s hands off of her only to be disappointed and even more irritated when she didn’t.

 

She had to fight to not pick up the remote and throw it at the television when Alexa’s disgusting little fingers entwined with Becky’s.

 

When Alexa gave Becky a tiny kiss on the cheek and pulled the almost nonresponsive Irish woman along behind her Charlotte was tempted to just throw the television out the window.

 

But Becky’s wasn’t hers anymore. Not that she ever had been. She didn’t have a right to be so angry. That didn’t stop her from wanting to rip Alexa’s hands off of Becky and beat her with the bloody stumps.

 

Defeated and emotionally exhausted Charlotte turned off the television and fell back into her bed. She had Smackdown tomorrow night and Paige had promised a surprise for the Smackdown Women’s Champion, but she already knew that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight. Even if she did somehow manage to fall asleep it was going to be contaminated and ruined by the image of Alexa and Becky standing tall at the end of Raw.

 

The diminutive blonde’s arm raising Becky’s into the air while she stared at Becky with a conniving and scheming smile on her face. Any trace of caring or sweetness leaving her face as soon as Becky couldn’t see her. Not seeing a person but a weapon that she could mold.


End file.
